For Sure: Franklin Chu & Judy Myers Running for County

by Judy Silberstein

(January 13, 2005) After weeks of speculation, voters now know who will run and when the voting will occur in the special election to replace George Latimer as District 7’s representative to the Westchester County Board of Legislators. The candidates are not a surprise - they are the same two predicted to run in mid-December: Republican Franklin Chu and Democrat Judy Myers.

On Tuesday afternoon, January 11, the current county board met and set the date for the vote: February 15, 2005.

Rye City Councilman Franklin Chu issued a release this week announcing that on Friday, January 14, at Rye City Hall, he will formally declare his candidacy to represent the 7th District, which includes the Sound Shore communities of Larchmont, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Rye City and Rye Neck. Mr. Chu is president of an investment management firm and the principal of the Chinese School of Southern Westchester.

Mr. Chu has the backing of the local Republican party chairs, who have begun to publicize their support. “We had a lot of people we were considering and who were interested in the position, and that’s what took so long,” said Don Derrico, chair of the Town of Mamaroneck Republicans. His wife Christie McEvoy-Derrico was among those expressing interest earlier in the process. “We ultimately thought that Franklin was the best candidate and had the best possibility of winning,” he concluded.

The Republicans will conduct a “mini-caucus” next week, but the outcome appears clear at this point. Rye Town GOP Chairman Dan Paniccia had already gone public with his support in early December ( See: County Seat: Myers vs. Chu Battle Is Likely)

New Rochelle GOP Party Chair Doug Colety said this week his committee is backing Mr. Chu, and he had not had contact with any other candidate in the last three weeks. Today, Westchester County Republican chair RoseMarie Panio also went on record in support of Mr. Chu. “He will make an excellent county legislator. He will lend his financial expertise to the board, which could definitely use it at this point,” she said.

Mr. Chu also announced that he had won support from Irving Scharf, chair of the Mamaroneck Conservative Party, who was particularly concerned with the possible negative impact of property revaluation. “He’s the one doctor in a thousand who can handle the revaluation problem,“ said Mr. Scharf.

The Democratic candidate, Town of Mamaroneck Councilwoman Judy Myers, made her formal declaration last week, though her candidacy had already been made known by a letter mailed to young voters the previous week by her college-aged children. (See: Judy Myers Officially Enters Race for County Legislature.)

The county board chose a relatively early date for the election – they could have waited until mid-March, or a maximum of 90 days from when Mr. Latimer vacated the seat. The February 15 date allows only six weeks for candidates to handle all their election chores: formal declarations, party certifications, pulling together an organization, fundraising, and campaigning.

Of course, while the legislative and political groups have been deliberating, the prospective candidates have not been idle. Mr. Chu has been talking to the media and making plans for weeks (See: November 17, 2004: Who Wants to Replace Latimer at County? Ms. Myers had also been lining up support and organizing her campaign ahead of her formal announcement.

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